Sunday, July 26, 2015

July 24, 2015 (BBC News Europe)Russian defense ministry sources say a squadron of Tupolev Tu-22M3
long-range bombers will be based in Crimea - but experts question the strategic
value of such a move for Russia. Russia's Interfax news agency reported the
plan, quoting an unnamed ministry source, though it has not been officially
confirmed. Other Russian media also reported it. Russia has previously pledged
to beef up its military forces in Crimea, which has been internationally
isolated since Russia annexed it from Ukraine in March 2014.

On 9 May the bombers were a highlight of Moscow's Victory Day flypast

Western nations imposed sanctions on
Russia after the annexation and tightened them over Russian support for armed
separatists in eastern Ukraine. Russian commentators see the Tu-22M3 bomber
move as a response to US plans to deploy surface-to-air missile interceptors in
Romania. Work at Romania's Deveselu airbase began in October 2013. It is part
of a Nato missile shield plan to defend Europe from a possible "rogue
state" missile attack. The US missiles are a ground-based version of
Aegis, a system used by the US navy since 2004. The Russian bombers could be
used against large surface ships, including aircraft carriers.

The Soviet-era Tu-22M3 bomber entered service in 1989 but has been
modernised since then

However, military expert Viktor
Murakhovsky argues that sending them to Crimea will only make them an obvious
target in the event of an armed conflict, and they will do little to improve
Russia's combat capability there. Russia also opposes the positioning of US
missile interceptors in Poland. It threatened to put Iskander short-range
missiles in its Kaliningrad region in response. However, despite reports of
temporary deployments, Iskanders have not been moved there permanently.